Comparison Quality of life for patients with alopecia areata and healthy individuals

Alopecia areata is a common skin disease that can adversely affect the quality of life (QOL) of the patients. The aim of this study was to determine QOL in patients with Alopecia areata and to compare it with QOL in healthy individuals. This study carried out on 75 patients with Alopecia areata and 150 controls. All the patients filled out two questionnaires: Short Form 36 (SF-36) and Dermatology Life Quality index (DLQI) and the controls only filled out SF-36. Then, the obtained data were analyzed by using the statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) software (version 15) and Chi square, analysis of variance, Tukey ranged test and Pearson's correlation coefficient test. After comparing the mean score of QOL in SF-36, it was found that the mean score of the patients in the dimensions of social functioning, emotional role and general health was lower compared to the control group (p=0.04, p=0.02, p=0.01 respectively). The mean score of the DLQI in the patients with alopecia areata was 8.48 ± 5.99. There were reverse statistically significant correlations between the scores of the different dimensions of the QOL obtained from the two questionnaires (SF-36 and DLQI). The study findings showed that the QOL in patients with alopecia areata was lower than that of controls.